Santini invited to U.S. Nat'l Jr. Team Evaluation Camp

Mahopac, N.Y., product is one of seven returnees from 2014 squad

Santini invited to U.S. Nat\'l Jr. Team Evaluation CampSantini invited to U.S. Nat\'l Jr. Team Evaluation Camp

Devils prospect Steven Santini was one of 42 players invited to the 2014 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp, USA Hockey announced Wednesday.

Santini, the Devils’ second-round pick, 42nd overall, in last year’s Draft, is one of seven players returning from the 2014 U.S. squad that finished fifth at the World Junior Championship. He won silver the year before at the 2013 IIHF Men’s Under-18 World Championship.

The evaluation camp takes place from Aug. 2-9 in Lake Placid and will see players practice and compete in international games against Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic. Their goal is a spot on the U.S. National Junior Team that will head to the 2015 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship, Dec. 26, 2014-Jan. 5, 2015, in Toronto and Montreal.

Santini, 19, played 35 games as a freshman last season at Boston College (HE), tallying three goals and eight assists for 11 points. He blocked a team-high 68 shots and posted a plus-26 that was tops among all Hockey East defensemen.

The Mahopac, N.Y., product earned All Hockey East Rookie Team honors in 2013-14 as well as a share of Boston College’s Bernie Burke Outstanding Freshman Award.

The Eagles fell in the NCAA semifinals to eventual 2014 national champion Union College.